


Haunted Touch

by white_fox



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Ghosts, Haunted House
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 11:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13364163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/white_fox/pseuds/white_fox
Summary: When Joan Keller attended the funeral of her deceased great-aunt, she didn't expect to acquire a house, nor the handsome ghost that came with it.





	Haunted Touch

**Author's Note:**

> This story doesn't pertain to any media fandom. It's just an original I thought up a while ago. I hope you all enjoy it.

Prologue  
He stares out the window, watched the vehicles go by. The window was open and a light breeze blew through but he didn’t feel it. He didn’t feel much of anything. Not the warmth of the sun on his skin, the carpet under his boots or the wood under his fingers. He didn’t feel hunger, sleep or the passage of time. He knew of time, could see the days come and go, but he lost count of how much time had passed.  
He felt the cold though. It chilled him to his bones, cutting through his skin and muscles. That was the only sensation he felt.  
He looked over at the people gathered in the parlor. They all wore black and spoke in low voices, cradling glasses of wine or Scotch in their hands. Some were softly crying and others were comforting the grieved. A picture was placed in a spot of remembrance with a vase of red roses behind it and a small candle burned. He couldn’t smell the candle or the roses even if he wanted to but he bet they would smelled wonderful.  
No one came to offer him comforting. None looked in his direction. He was ignored by all the parishioners. He was used to being invisible. Even when he had made his presence known he was brushed off.  
He looked at the picture placed on the table with such care. It was clearly of a woman, well into her nineties. He had actually cared about the woman. She was the only one who talked to him, even if she couldn’t see him. Even when faced with old age and pleaded to go to a retirement home or to sell her house to stay with relatives, she refused to leave. Refused to leave him alone. People told her it was a stupid reason to stay but the woman was like a mountain. She refused to budge.  
He remembered the nights he would sit on the chair and listen to her read. They were stories he heard through the years, read from mothers or fathers to children or between lovers. Even when her sight was failing and arthritis assaulted her fingers she asked her nurse to read for an hour each day before she got ready for bed.  
He liked hearing the stories. It reminded him of when his mother read the dime books during the winter nights when he was young. He didn’t mind the television set as it played. In fact, he found some of the stories it told fascinating and it helped him keep up with the outside world.  
He briefly wondered what would happen to him now. He spent so long in the one-sided company of another that he had gotten used to it. He shouldn’t dwell on it long. He had been alone before. He would get through it. Maybe his new tenant would be nice. One could hope.  
“Everyone, can I have you attention please?” said a woman wearing a black dress. “Thank you for coming today. I know Emily would have loved to all of you.  
“Emily was a young soul. Even when faced with old age she retained a child-like spirit. Stubborn as hell too. Would not budge out of this old house even on her death bed. I would asked her why she wanted to live in this house all alone but she told me that she was never alone. I don’t know if that’s true or not but I certainly hope it was. She was a special lady who deserved more than what life gave her but she was happy with her life. I think we should all take a page from Emily’s book and enjoy our lives the best we can.”  
She held up her glass of wine.  
‘To Emily. The good die young.”  
“To Emily,” said the rest of the mourners holding up their glasses in salute.  
“May she rest in peace,” he said.  
He looked out the window as a car drove up and parked in front of the house.

Chapter 1  
Joan Keller pulled up in front of the large Victorian house, looking out at it in awe. It was a red house with bushes surrounding it and ivy creeping up a white fence against the house. There were some flowers on the bushes and they were in full bloom.  
It was a beautiful house. Built in the eighteen hundreds if she remembered currently. It was one of the few in Pittsburg that wasn’t a historical monument. She remembered it from when she was young. Her parents would bring her and her brother and sister up a couple weeks in the summer to visit her great-aunt Emily Fisher. It all stopped when her father got a job in Boston and they moved. Joan hadn’t been back since. Her parents kept up with Aunt Emily but couldn’t afford to make a trip down.  
Joan had been sorry that she neglected her great-aunt as well. It had been a great place to be growing up. She had many rooms to play hide-and-seek in with her cousins and a large yard to play ‘Tag’ in. Her home in Boston didn’t have that. If they wanted to play they had to go to the park. Here, all they had to do was go outside.  
Joan parked her car by the curb and got out. The autumn sun warmed her skin and the cool breeze chilled it, giving her goosebumps. She smoothed down her black blouse and straightened her black skirt. Shouldering her purse she closed her car door and walked up to the door. She knocked hesitantly.  
It was opened by a blonde woman wearing a black suit. Joan smiled up at her sadly. It was her father’s sister who was a realtor in town.  
“Hi, Aunt Mary,” she said.  
“Joan,” said Mary hugging her close. “It is good to see you.”  
“I’m sorry I’m so late,” said Joan hugging her back. “My plane only just touched down…”  
“You’re here now. I’m sure Aunt Emily would understand.”  
“She was a very understanding woman. Very unusual too.”  
Mary laughed.  
“Yes, she was, but that’s what we love most about her.”  
Mary led her to the parlor and she was reintroduced to the family, the few that were there anyway, and to Emily’s friends, of which there were few. She caught up with her family and spoke briefly to the friends. These were people she had not seen in years so she was a little awkward around them. She accepted the wine and the tidbits of food that were being handed around and took in the house. It had not changed at all since she had been a child.  
She looked to the edge of the parlor and gasped. A man stood at the window, watching the gathering with weary eyes. He was devilishly handsome with shoulder length black hair pulled back in a ponytail. His blue eyes followed each person with slight boredom, as if he didn’t care about the people around him. What was even odder was what he was wearing. A white shirt with the shirttail tucked into dark breeches secured to the waist with a belt and boots that reached mid-calf and the leggings tucked in. He was faint to look at, almost transparent, and his skin was deathly pale. It was terrifying to look at him.  
“Joan, what are you looking at,” asked her cousin, Anna. Joan turned to her in surprise and saw her worried face.  
“I was just…” she started to say turning back to the man only to find him gone. She looked around the room but he was nowhere in sight. “That’s strange. I could have sworn I saw a man there.”  
“A man?” asked Anna looking to where Joan pointed.  
“Yes. He had dark hair, blue eyes and the strangest thing was he was wearing a shirttail and breeches. Isn’t that strange?”  
“Joan, you were just seeing things,” said Anna. “Really, who wears those outfits nowadays?”  
Joan was about to argue against her, a habit with her career as a lawyer, until her rational mind took over. Anna was probably right. It had been a long flight and she barely got any rest since she heard about the death of her aunt. She was probably tired and needed sleep.  
“Strangely enough, you were always seeing things here,” Anna said in an afterthought.  
“I was,” asked Joan curiously.  
“Yes, that exact same man actually. You swore up and down he was watching us as we played. Gave our parents heart attacks! Really, Joan, I thought you grew out of such childish things like imaginary friends.”  
“Really? I don’t remember that.”  
“Well, we were just kids,” said Anna with a shrug.  
“Yeah, we were,” agreed Joan.  
Joan mingled a bit more with the rest of the mourners, the man she thought she saw completely out of her mind. It was all just a trick of her mind.  
“Joan, do you have a place to sleep,” asked her uncle, Jack, Mary’s husband.  
Joan paused for a moment in surprise. She didn’t have a place to stay for the night, which wasn’t like her. She was usually very good when planning trips. When she heard about the death of her great-aunt her mind went numb and all she thought about was getting to Pittsburg. She hadn’t made any reservations for a hotel.  
“No, I don’t,” she said. “I was in such a daze when I heard about Aunt Emily. I haven’t even made hotel reservations.”  
“Well, you can stay here,” said Mary.  
Joan paused. Stay at the house? She hadn’t thought of that.  
“I don’t know if I could,” she said.  
“Her lawyer’s reading the will tomorrow,” said Mary. “I think she left something for you.”  
“Why would she?” asked Joan. “I haven’t seen her since I was a child.”  
“She always had a soft spot for you,” said Anna. “I think she said it was because she liked the way you see things.”  
“Well, I’m a lawyer, so I need to see things that others don’t.” They laughed at that. Joan looked around the room. “I wonder what’ll happen to the house. It’s such a beautiful place.”  
“It certainly is,” said Mary wisp fully. “More than likely it’ll go on the market. Her things and furniture sold or Salvation Army. Something like that.”  
Joan looked around the house. If it did go to market, she was certainly buying it. She needed a fresh start and this was as good a place to begin. A lot of good memories here.  
She heard her name called and turned to greet another guest.  
~*~*~  
He watched the newcomer with shocked eyes. She was older but he definitely saw the girl in the woman’s face. To see her here after all these years stirred something in him he thought buried long ago. It was in the smile on her, sad as it was, and the look in her eyes.  
It had been eighteen years since he had seen her and she had grown form a beautiful girl to an even more beautiful woman. Her brown hair hung to her shoulder in a soft curl. Blond and auburn highlights had obviously been added in since she didn’t have them when she was younger. She wore a black blouse, black skirt and heels. She wore a choker around her neck with a small diamond pendant and small silver hooped earrings.  
She was beautiful. He couldn’t stop looking at her. She smiled solemnly as she spoke with family and friends. He remembered when she was a child and he would watch her play. She had quite an imagination. Sometimes she would even sit with Emily and listen to the stories she told aloud for him. Unlike most of the other kids that left early in the story, she stayed through the whole telling.  
She turned her head, and stared right back at him. He gave a start. Could she see him? Sometimes a child would be able to see him but never an adult. Could she really see him? Was it even possible?  
Before he could comprehend his theory her cousin called for her attention. He quickly left the room. What he was thinking couldn’t be possible. Adults couldn’t see or hear him. If they did his time with Emily would have been a lot less lonely. He looked forward to their “talks” and her reading to him, but it wasn’t the same since he couldn’t respond, and if he did she couldn’t hear him. It was infuriating to have someone acknowledge him but unable to converse with each other.  
He went to one of the upper rooms that had been converted into a library. At one point it had been his room. His bed against one wall, a table with a pitcher of water and a bowl to wash, wardrobe and chest fill of clothes. Everything was simpler then. The world changed while he stayed the same.  
He looked out the window and watched the children play. Despite the atmosphere inside and their dark clothes, they laughed and shrieked in delight. The window was open and he could hear them play. Lifting a hand he moved to reach out the window, but his hand stopped at the threshold of the frame. No matter how hard he pushed, it continued to resist. He pulled his hand away and glared at it.  
The house was his prison as much as his curse was. He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to, and, oh, how he wanted to. He wanted to experience the sun on his skin and the grass under his feet again. To experience life as a normal human being.  
But he wasn’t human. Not anymore.  
He looked out the window to continue to watch the children play. One looked up to his window and waved up at him. He waved back.  
~*~*~  
With the help of Anna, Joan got her bags to one of the available rooms. She really wanted a bath and sleep. More than likely the bathroom was occupied even through most of the guests had already left to their homes or hotels.  
Sighing with exhaustion, she toed off her shoes and fell down on the bed. They were as soft as she remembered and still had that faint apple cinnamon smell, reminding her of apple crumble.  
Her mind went back to the man she thought she had seen. Anna had said she had seen someone similar when she was younger, but Joan didn’t remember. She remembered playing in the yard, listening to Aunt Emily read A Tale of Two Cities and Through the Looking Glass. She even learned how to knit after watching her aunt and even though she never got past the pearl stitch she still had fun. She could not remember the man.  
Maybe an imaginary friend? She heard some kids kept their almost till their pre-teens. Being back made her remember the imaginary friend she had as a child?  
Sighing again she sat up and looked around the room. It was decorated as the rest of the house. Landscape paintings on the wall, a table with a vase of flowers and a wardrobe. A blue quilt covered the bed, matching the drapes over the window. A nightstand with a lamp and alarm clock were by the bed and a settee was place under the window. It was all picturesque. It had not changed since she was a kid.  
Getting up she closed the drapes and got ready for bed.  
~*~*~

The next morning came with blue skies and few clouds. Joan woke from the most restful sleep she had had in months. She stretched lazily as she woke. Her night shirt riding up to her stomach. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept so well.  
At her home in Boston, she had a hard time going to sleep. Constantly getting out of bed and checking her lock and windows. Even the burglar alarm didn’t ease her fear.  
Now a hundred miles away from Boston she slept like a log. She didn’t know if it was the distance or if it was something else but she felt safe.  
Getting up she put on a robe and grabbed her outfit for the day. It was a white cotton sweater and blue jeans. She went to one of the two bathrooms and found it empty. She took a quick shower so as to not hog all of the hot water, dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast.  
Anna, Mary and Jack were already there. Mary was at the stove flipping pancakes and frying sausages and the other two were already eating. They looked up as she walked in.  
“Hey,” said Jack. “Ready for breakfast?”  
“More than ready,” said Joan as she sat down and poured herself a glass of orange juice. “When’s the attorney getting here?”  
“Ten,” said Mary. “He won’t stay long. Just to read the will and distribute the items. Then that’s it.”  
She set a plate in front of Joan and Joan picked up the maple syrup and poured it on.  
“I wonder who’ll get the house,” said Anna in thought.  
“It’ll probably go on market,” said Mary. “Personally, I would have started looking for a realtor.”  
Joan turned to her curiously.  
“Why?”  
“Because it’s haunted.”  
Joan scoffed to muffle a laugh.  
“I don’t believe in ghosts,” she said.  
“Rumors say it was a soldier of the Civil War,” said Anna. “But there’s no proof.”  
“Because ghosts don’t exist,” said Joan. “It’s just a bunch of crackpots trying to explain weird noises at night, but they could be explained if you stop and think about it.”  
“You don’t believe in an afterlife?” asked Anna.  
“I believe people live and die. What happens after I’ll just have to wait and see.”  
“I’m sure Joan doesn’t want to hear about such things early in the morning,” said Mary. She turned to Joan with a smile. “Coffee?”  
“Thank you,” she said and held up her coffee cup.  
The rest of the time was spent talking about home stories and college experiences.  
Attorney Bob Panino was a kind elderly man that spent ten minutes greeting her aunt and uncle and cousin before sitting at the dining room to read Emily’s will. The black suit he wore was freshly pressed and the black tie straight. He looked like the type of lawyer Joan had spent her career around.  
All five adults waited for him to read the will. He set his briefcase on the table and sat down. He opened it and pulled out a pair of reading glasses before pulling out the blue envelope. He cleared his throat.  
“We’re here for the reading of Emily Fisher’s last will and testament,” he said. “Signed by Emily Fisher, Bob Panino and witnessed by nurse Donna Byrd.”  
He opened the file and read.  
“To my niece, Anna, I enclose a trust of two thousand dollars to be used on her twenty-first birthday. To Mary, I leave my porcelain doll collection. To Jack, I leave my husband’s beer mug collection. To my great niece, Joan, I leave my house and books. Use them with great care.”  
He folded the will and placed it in his briefcase.  
“The rest of her money will go to various charities and organizations,” he said taking off his glasses. He closed his briefcase. “My condolences.”  
He left with Mary and Jack Escorting him out. and Anna turned to Joan.  
“So what are you going to do with the house?” she asked.  
“I’m going to move in,” said Joan. “I’ve been looking for a new start and this is as good a place to begin.”  
They heard the door close and turned to see Mary walk back in.  
“Well, I suppose that’s it,” she said. She laughs softly. “She knew I liked that doll collection.”  
“The trust fund would really help me with college,” said Anna.  
“What are you studying?” asked Joan.  
“Medicine. I’m going to be a surgeon.”  
“Good luck with it.”  
“Thanks,” said Anna and sighs. “Well, I better go. I’ve got exams I need to study for.”  
“Okay, nice seeing you again.”  
Anna smiled at her. “Let’s get together again sometime, okay?”  
“Sure,” said Joan smiling at her.  
With a wave Anna left. Joan looked at her aunt and uncle as they also prepared to leave.  
“Well, I guess that’s that,” said Mary. She smiled at Joan. “It was good seeing you again, Joan.”  
“Are you going to sell?’ asked Jack.  
“The house?” she asked.  
“Of course,” said Mary. “Surely you’re not thinking of living here? You have a life in Boston. Why would you want to move?”  
“Actually, I was thinking of moving and this place is perfect,” said Joan.  
Mary didn’t look too pleased with the idea. Shouldering her purse she gave Joan a smile.  
“Call me if you change your mind,” she said.  
She and Jack left, leaving Joan alone in her new home. She stood in the foyer. She had a lot of work to do to make this her home. Picking up a pad and paper she began to make lists.  
~*~*~

He watched what had transpired. Emily had given his house to Joan. Emily said she was giving the house to one of her nieces but didn’t say which. He had ‘met’ Mary and Anna. He liked Anna. She was genuinely concerned about Emily’s health and visited at least once a month and called once a week. Mary was more complicated. He didn’t like how she eyed the items in the house, as if adding up the dollars they would bring if sold. He didn’t like it.  
Joan was a different story. He was getting a feel for her for the first time in eighteen years. She seemed too in to the real world. He wondered if she would even acknowledge him. Emily did, but then she was a big believer in the unknown.  
Joan would be a tough nut to crack.  
He followed her as she wrote on a pad of paper. He wondered what she was going to do with Emily’s things. Hopefully not get rid of all of them.  
She paused by a table with a bowl. He looked at the bowl in thought. Maybe he could get her to listen.  
~*~*~  
Joan stood in front of a table and bowl, taking a picture and documenting it on her list. She would need to know what to get rid of before moving in. It was a big house for one person. She might rent a couple of rooms.  
She still had to quit her job in Boston and put resumes in to firms in Pittsburg. Plus end her lease and pack up her apartment. She wouldn’t mind leaving Boston behind. She had few friends and no boyfriend. She wasn’t leaving a lot behind.  
She took a picture of what look like a painting of a Roman feast. That was definitely going.  
A glass rattled. She turned to see the crystals on the wall candleholders shake. They lightly clicked against each other. There was no wind to stir the crystals. What had?  
“Hello?” she called out. She paused for a moment to listen for a reply but none came. “Is anyone here?”  
There was no reply. She was about to go back to cataloging when her phone rang, making her jump. She answered it to a racing heart.  
“Hello?”  
No answer came. She hear a clatter and cursing on the other end. She tightened her grip on the phone.  
“Hello?” she said again.  
“Hey! Sorry, Jo. I dropped the phone.”  
Joan sighed in relief. It was Lisa, her best friend since college. They both got along fine despite their difference in academic fields and stayed friends even after college.  
“Hi, Lisa,” she said. “How is everything there?”  
“Okay, but we miss you. Sorry to hear about your aunt.”  
“Thanks. Sorry, big house all by myself.”  
“Your aunt left you the house?”  
“Yes, she did,” Joan leaned against a wall. “It’s perfect.”  
“So you’re really moving?” The sound of Lisa’s voice was sad and it made Joan’s heart clench.  
“I have to. I hate looking over my shoulder every five seconds. I’m freaking out in Boston. I’m doing this for my health.”  
“I would keep you safe…”  
“Lisa, as much as I love you, not even you can watch my back twenty-four/seven. I’m jumping out of my skin. I need to get away.”  
Lisa sighed.  
“Okay,” she said. “Just keep in touch. And visit.”  
“I’ll be by in a couple of days to pack my apartment. Want to help?”  
“Absolutely. So what’s the house like?”  
Joan laughed.  
“It’s great. Just like I remembered it. Come visit sometime and I’ll show you.”  
“I’ll hold you to it, girl.”  
The spoke for several minutes on the happenings in Boston before Lisa spoke up.  
“So, tell me about the house. It’s like really old, right?”  
“Yeah, Victorian, Civil War era. People say it’s haunted.”  
“Cool,” said Lisa excitedly.  
Joan laughed. It didn’t surprise her that Lisa thought a haunted house was cool. She thought anything to do with the paranormal was cool. She would spend hours pouring over myths and legends.  
“I’ll see you in a few days, ‘kay?” she said laughing.  
“Of course. See you then, Jo.”  
Joan hung up and sighed. Saying goodbye to Lisa was going to be hard. They had been through so much together. Maybe she could get Lisa to live with her. It would be easy for Lisa to move with her job. Easier than Joan could.  
Pushing off the wall she went back to cataloging.  
~*~*~  
He walked into Joan’s room. It had been several hours since she had gone to sleep and he had gotten used to walking around the house at night. He spent most of the day watching Joan and trying to get her to notice his presence but she ignore it or chose to see it as something else. Nothing he did made her give it a second glance.  
He watched as she lay curled on the bed. She looked so peaceful sleeping. He felt guilty for listening on her conversation with her friend but he was curious. He listened as they spoke about the house and her friends in Boston. She was giving up so much to come live here. Why would she do that?  
Then he heard the fear in her voice. There was something in Boston that she was afraid of. For some reason that stirred something in him. A protective feeling. He hadn’t had that feeling in a long time.  
He walked around and sat on the bed. The serene look on her face was a foreign look to him. A lock of hair lay across her face. He reached over and gently touched her. He would imagine her skin would feel as smooth as silk and her hair would be the softest he ever felt. More than anything he wished he had the ability to touch.  
He lifted hand to touch the lock across her face, and it moved under his touch. He pulled his hand back in shock. That shouldn’t have happened. In two hundred years he had never been able to move anything physically. He had only been able to do that mentally.  
Joan shifted and curled toward him. He stared down in shock as her hand curled into his pant leg. He looked at it in shock. No one has been able to touch him. How can she be able to?  
For the rest of the night, he watched Joan sleep as he pondered the questions going through his mind.  
Chapter 2

Joan carefully closed the door with her foot, a heavy box in her arms. It took less time than she thought to pack her things thanks to Lisa’s help. Her old firm was sad to see her go and held a party to see her off. Joan got a new job at a respectable firm and would start in a week.  
She carried the box in the living room and set it down in the corner. She made a catalogue of the items she wanted to keep and wanted to get rid of. There wasn’t much since Joan was moving out of a one room apartment so she didn’t have much to move. She left her furniture at the apartment but moved everything else.  
During her time packing she jumped at everything outside of her door. She was too afraid to go outside alone and constantly looked over her shoulder. At times she felt like she was being watched. It was driving her crazy.  
Now she didn’t have to feel that way anymore. She felt safe here now. It was amazing what a change of address could do for a person.  
She started to unpack when her phone rang. Reaching into her pocket she pulled it out and answered.  
“Hello?”  
“Hey, sweetie. I wanted to see how you were.”  
Joan smiled. It was her mother. After spending ten years in Boston, her parents moved to New York. Joan stayed in Boston to finish university. She stayed in Boston even after graduation.  
“Hi, mom,” she said sitting on the couch. “How’s Dad?”  
“Eating every greasy food he can find, even though his doctor told him not to.”  
Joan laughed softly.  
“Dad never did like listening to doctors,” she said.  
Her father hated hospitals and hated doctors, having to be dragged to one for even the worst cold. When he had a heart attack six months ago, he refused to adhere to the doctor’s advice and continue to eat the greasy food he loved so much. That was until his wife put her foot down and took away his favorite foods and replaced them with healthy alternatives, but was caught with a fried chicken or cheeseburger every now and then.  
“Yes, but he will listen to me,” said her mother. “How is the house, sweetie? Settling in okay?”  
“I just got the last box in. I’ll clear some stuff of Aunt Emily’s out, but not all of it.”  
“I’m glad, dear. You should decorate it to however is comfortable to you. Make it your home.”  
“Thanks, Mom. How is Jerry and Caroline?”  
“The baby is expected any day now. I’m so excited to be a grandmother!”  
Joan smiles at her mother’s excitement. Joan was also happy to become an aunt and was happy her brother was going to start a family with Caroline like he wanted.  
The rest of the time was spent talking about the family before her mother had to go and prepare her husband’s dinner.  
“Stay safe, okay, baby? I want you to install an alarm…”  
“Mom, I’m two states away. Don’t worry.”  
“I’m a mother. It’s in the job description.”  
“I’m having one installed tomorrow. Soon enough for you?”  
“Yes. Love you, sweetie.”  
“Love you too, Mom.”  
Joan hung up and went to make her own meal. Even though she was cooking for one she didn’t slack on anything. Like any member of her family, she loved to cook and would make a full meal even for herself.  
She decided to make a simple spaghetti and ate in the living room since she was eating alone. A marathon of Criminal Minds was on the television and watched that as she ate.  
The first thing she saw when she walked into the living room was one of her chairs had move a foot to the right. Joan nearly dropped her tray in shock. She looked around as if expecting another person in the room.  
“Hello?” she called.  
No answer came. She set the tray on the table and began checking the door and windows. Even as safe as she felt in Pittsburg, the need for security was ingrained. She checked every door and window lock and was glad to find them secure. Next she checked every room, nook and cranny for an intruder and was glad to find none.  
She looked at the chair. If no one was in the house other than her then how did her chair move? The house wasn’t at a slant so it could have slid and it certainly did move on its own.  
Anna’s and Mary’s comments on the house being haunted came through her mind and she scoffed. There was no way her house was haunted. She never believed in haunted houses. The noises people heard were nothing more than pipes and the house settling. There was no such thing as ghosts.  
Putting it out of her mind she set the chair back and began to eat her supper as she watched her show.  
~*~*~  
For the next three weeks Joan watched the strange happens around her house. First it was her chair, then it was her couch, then her television, her chair again, again her couch and television. A few times her dining chairs moved around too.  
If that wasn’t bad enough, her lights would flicker nonstop. She had electrician take a look but he told her nothing was wrong with the circuit box and the wiring seemed fine. Perplexed she had to go through the day with flickering lights.  
Worst were the nights waking up to feathery light touches. She would wake only to find no one in the room. Sometimes she woke up screaming. She would check all the locks and the alarm to find them still intact. After that, she would be too terrified to go back to sleep.  
Her work place was nice. Her boss and co-workers were nice and didn’t treat her like a newbie. They gave her cases befitting her experience and didn’t hover. They let her keep her own pace while keeping to a dead line. She had even been to court a couple of times. Being in her element she felt not as jittery but there were times when she’d jump when a hand was placed on her shoulder or when her name was called. It only took her a second afterwards to remind herself that she wasn’t back in Boston and to force her fears aside.  
“Joan,” called her co-worker Terry and Joan jumped, knocking a pencil holder off the desk. “Oh, shit, sorry!”  
Joan laughed, more to ease her nerves than to laugh over her own clumsiness.  
“No, it’s all right,” she said. “I’m just jumpy today.”  
“That’s okay. Everyone gets surprised.” Terry leaned against her desk. “How are you liking Pittsburg?”  
“It’s nice, different from Boston but same in some ways. Guess it’s different for you, growing up here all your life.”  
Terry laughed.  
“Yes, it is.” He paused for a moment in thought. “Do you want some coffee?”  
Joan looked up at him in surprise.  
“What?”  
“Coffee? You and me?”  
“Oh, Terry, thanks for the offer, but I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want to…”  
“Bad breakup?” he asked with a knowing look. She laughed.  
“That transparent?”  
Terry nods comically. “Kind of, yeah.”  
Joan sighed. Terry was a nice guy, and a very attractive man, but she didn’t feel anything more for him than that.  
“I’m sorry, Terry, really,” she said sincerely. “But we can still have coffee, but just as friends?”  
As it turned out coffee had been a good idea, though she kept her distance so Terry wouldn’t think to go further. She learned a bit about Pittsburg that wasn’t learned on a tour guide. She genially liked Terry but didn’t see it going past friendship.  
The rest of her day went uneventfully and she was looking forward to an uneventful evening at home. After making a meal of friend chicken and buttered green beans she picked up the book she was currently reading and curled up on the couch with the television on low for background noise.  
She opened the book and began reading. Before she finished the first page, the television shut off. She looked up at it curiously. Picking up the remote she turned the television back on and went back to her book.  
It turned off again.  
“What in the world,” she said turning it on. It turned off again.  
Getting up, she walked over to the television and checked the cords. Everything was in place. She turned the television on, only for it to turn off again.  
“What?”  
The lights started to flicker and the television went static. She turned around in surprise.  
“What is going on?” she said in shock.  
For a terrifying instant, she thought her home was haunted but that couldn’t be right. There was no such thing as haunted houses, but she was standing in her living room with all her electronics going on the fritz and only in her living room.  
“What do you want?” she asked terrified.  
The book she was reading fell to the floor. She looked at it in shock. Everything returned to normal. She stared at the book curiously. The ghost wanted her to read the book? She remembered Emily’s nurse saying that she like to have her books read aloud and she would read aloud when Joan was little. What if Emily wasn’t reading to herself but to the ghost? But Emily always read the classics.  
“It’s just Harry Potter,” she said.  
The lights flickered again. She picked up the book and they stopped. Did the ghost, whoever it was, want her to read the story out loud? There really was no harm in it, right?  
“Okay,” she said “Just stop messing with my things.”  
She sat back down on the couch and began to read aloud.  
~*~*~  
Hours later, Ryan watched Joan as she slept. They had spent two hours reading from her Harry Potter book. Her reading and him listening. The story was a lot different from the ones he was used to. It was exciting. In his time if someone mentioned witches, the townsfolk would grab their torches and stakes. Nowadays, people loved books on magic and monsters.  
Ryan watched as Joan shifted in her sleep. He wondered what she would think about him. For the past three weeks he had been trying to get her to notice him. He felt for sure that she had seen him during the wake but now he was beginning to think it was a fluke. No one had been able to see him for centuries. He thought he had let go of the need for human interaction but looking at Joan made him wish more than anything that he was corporeal again.  
He watched her sleep. Never had he felt as protective about her as he had for anyone else. He knew she was frightened of something. Since she moved in she placed new locks on the doors and windows and installed a security system. She was securing herself against something. Whatever it was he could only guess.  
Walking over to her bed he sat on the mattress. As he had so many times he observed her as she slept. She slept with a childlike expression, mouth wide open and a hand curled by her cheek. He could just picture a teddy bear clutched to her chest in a vice grip.  
He reached without hesitation to her hair. It wasn’t the first time he had touched her. He was still amazed by how soft her hair was and was intrigued by the hair colors women were in to nowadays. Also her eyes were a kaleidoscope of color. It was hypnotizing to look at.  
Joan groaned again and Ryan watched as she woke against the dream she was having. He deeply regretted the way she would wake after he touched her. He wished he could comfort her on whatever it was that was scaring her and protect her.  
Joan opened her eyes and stared up at him. Ryan watched her as she woke and registered herself in to the real world.  
Suddenly her eyes widened in fright and she screamed, scrambling to ram against the headboard. Ryan jumped off the bed and surprise and looked around to see what had frightened her but saw nothing. Looking back, he saw her looking right at him.  
“Who are you and how the hell did you get in my house,” she said.  
Ryan stared in shock at Joan. She was pointing right at him! Addressing him! Could this be possible? Could a person really see him?  
“You can see me?” he said, not really expecting her to answer him.  
“Of course I can see you,” she said still in surprise.  
“You can hear me too?!”  
“Again, yes! Now who are you and what are you doing in my room?!”  
“I… I…” Ryan could hit himself. Here he was with an opportunity to talk and he didn’t know what to say.  
“I’m calling the police,” said Joan reaching for her cellphone.  
“No, don’t!” said Ryan. The lights flickered and all the furniture rattled from his outburst. Ryan quickly got his emotions under control and the furniture settled. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’s just been a very long time since I spoke to another person.”  
“You still didn’t answer my question. Who are you, and how did you get in my room?”  
“I walked in,” he said. She looked at him scrupulously.  
“Walked in? Right. How did you get past my security alarm? And how did you do that thing with the house?”  
“Joan, please don’t freak out…”  
“How do you know my name?!” Joan was way past freaking out and right at the verge of a meltdown. She had just woken up from a nightmare to a stranger standing over her bed. It was her worst nightmares coming true.  
Ryan sighed. This was not going to be easy he thought.  
“I’m Ryan O’Conner. I know your name because I live here too.”  
“The hell you do! I inherited this house!”  
“That’s not what I meant…”  
“I’m calling the police.”  
She reached for the phone but it flung off the stand and crashed against the wall. She pulled back her hand with a yelp.  
“I’m sorry,” said Ryan. “It’s just been a long time since I talked to a person.”  
“I want you out of my house!”  
“Believe me, I wish I could leave.”  
“Listen, you…”  
She turned on the light, and gasped when she saw the man from Emily’s wake. He wore the exact some outfit and his blue eyes looked at her in a mixture of shock and awe.  
“You were at my aunt’s wake. Did you know her?”  
“You saw me? I didn’t think…Yes, I’ve known your aunt for years.”  
“She never mentioned you,” said Joan.  
“We’ve had a strange relationship,” he said. “I’m sorry for scaring you. It wasn’t my intention.”  
“Then what was?”  
“I…” started Ryan and then stopped. He didn’t know how to explain what he was let alone why he was there. “Forgive me, please. I did not mean to hurt you.”  
He turned to the door.  
“Wait,” called Joan as he reached the door. “How did you get in here?”  
“I’ve always been here,” he said before he turned off the light and walked through the door.  
“Ryan?” she called flinging off her covers and ran after him. She opened the door and looked down the hall but he was gone.  
She checked every room, every lock and the alarm but everything was in place. She searched for Ryan but she saw no sign of him. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out how he had gotten in or out of her house without tripping the alarm.  
Mary’s and Anna’s ghost story came to mind and she shook her head. No. There were no such things as ghosts.  
Were there?  
She paused in her research to think. Was Ryan O’Conner really his name or did he give it to her out of convenience. It sure wasn’t any ghost touching her.  
Joan remembered the clothes Ryan wore. They looked circa Civil war. Why would a man wear those clothes to a break-in? Was he LARPing and forgot to change, or did he always wear those clothes.  
She remembered how surprised and flabbergasted he was when Joan had looked at him. Not the reaction of a burglar or Peeing Tom. They were more like the actions of someone who hasn’t spoken to another person for a long time.  
“You’re deep in thought.”  
Joan gasped and looked up at Terry standing over her desk.  
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. What were you thinking about?”  
“Something stupid,” she said.  
“Wasn’t stupid if it has you thinking that much. What’s wrong?”  
Joan thought for a moment. It was a stupid idea, and she should drop it, but she wanted to know more.  
“Terry, you’re a Civil War buff. Have you heard of Ryan O’Conner?”  
“Ryan O’Conner? Why?”  
“I heard about him once,” she said quickly, hoping Terry wouldn’t notice it. “Who is he?”  
“His family used to own the property you live in,” he said. “When the Civil War broke out, he fought for the Union. No one really knows what happened to him after he came back. He disappeared. His family held out hope that he would return but he never did.”  
“What did everyone think happen to him?” she asked.  
“There were many rumors, one even saying that the woman he was courting was a witch, but he fell in love with another woman and she cursed him. No one knew what the curse was, only that he was never seen after that.” Terry shrugged. “But that’s just a rumor.”  
“Right, a rumor,” said Joan softly in thought. She smiled at Terry appreciatively. “Thanks, Terry. You’ve been a help.”  
“No problem. Now how about coffee?”  
Joan took the coffee and the company. Afterward she researched more on Ryan O’Conner between caseloads. There was very little, just a birth certificate and an army registry. There was no death certificate until after his parents’ deaths.  
She looked up where his tombstone was, only to find that his, along with his parents’, had been bulldozed to make way for a series of hotels. It didn’t say where they had been moved to. 

Chapter 3

The next day Joan researched everything she could on Ryan O’Conner going back thirty years. The man only looked a couple years older then her so she wanted to be sure. There were a lot but none were the one that visited her the night before, judging by their driver’s license photos.  
Her house had a quiet history too. Not many tenants stayed for long. The longest person to live in the house was her aunt. There were reports of strange occurrences in the house. Rattling drawers, moving furniture, and noise at night. They were all the making of a haunting. Some have even sighted a specter described as a young man dressed in Civil War clothes.  
She paused in thought. Was her house really haunted and Ryan was the ghost? Her rational mind was dealing against the evidence she had found. She didn’t know what was fantasy and what was reality.  
She clocked out of work at her usual time, not wanting to show how anxious she was to get home. The thought of seeing Ryan again made her heart hammer in her chest. The thought of wanting to see Ryan again surprised her. She wanted to see Ryan again, to solve his mystery. The lawyer in her needed to know.  
Before she went home she went to a magic shop and bought an Ouija board. She didn’t know if it would work. The only expertise she had was a séance was in college with Lisa. To this day she swore it was Lisa moving the pointer.  
Walking into her house she set the board on the coffee table and went to make supper. It was still a couple hours till nightfall and midnight was supposed to be the best time for a séance.  
As she was watching an evening show her phone rang. She got up to answer.  
“Hello?” she said. There was no answer. “Hello? Is someone there?”  
All she heard was light breathing. Blood drained form Joan’s face at the sound of the gravely sound. It couldn’t be. She was finally away from all that.  
“It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked clutching the phone in her hand. “How did you find me? You’re not supposed to contact me.”  
There was no answer. Of course there wasn’t. He never spoke on the phone.  
“Listen to me, because I’m only going to say this once. Leave me alone!”  
She hung up, probably a stupid move on her part, and turned her phone off. Curling her knees up, she wrapped her arms around her legs and attempted to stop her shivers.  
She tried to push away the feeling of his hands bruising her skin or his breath in her ear. She forced herself not to touch the scar above her left breast. The feel of the knife was still fresh, even after six months of healing. Silently she wished Ryan was there. She needed someone to hold her.  
To pass the time she went over case files, read aloud, and watched television. She kept looking around to see if Ryan came early but so far she was supposedly alone in the room. It didn’t mean she was and she hoped Ryan would contact her.  
Midnight approached and she set up the board. She turned out all the lights and set two white vanilla scented candles at the head of it. She lit the candles and put her hand on the pointed as it chimed midnight.  
“Ryan, are you here?” she asked looking at the pointer. Nothing. “Please, Ryan, answer me. Let me know I’m not going crazy.”  
No answer came. She waited five minutes before trying again.  
“Please answer me, Ryan. Please.”  
No answer. Joan pleaded for an hour but no answer came. Finally she gave up talking and just watched the board, barely blinking in case she missed something. After a awhile her lids grew heavy and she fell asleep.  
~*~*~  
Ryan sat next to Joan on the couch. Her head was propped on the back of the couch. The candles had been blown out and the Ouija board was still on the table, the pointer unmoved.  
When he saw Joan setting up the board, he had been surprised to learn the reason for it was because she wanted to contact him, but he didn’t want to talk to her through a board. He wanted to do it face to face like the night before.  
He tried to call on the feeling he had the night before so he could speak to her, but Joan continued to not see him. It frustrated him. He wanted more than anything to talk to her and not being able to annoy him.  
He reached over and touched her hair, threading her fingers in her strands. It still amazed him that he could touch her. He wanted to spend hours touching and talking to her.  
Joan stirred. Ryan forced himself to pull away as her eyes opened and stared up at him. She jumped, started at the sight of him, but it turned in to relief.  
“Ryan,” she said.  
“Hello,” he said remembering her reaction the night before.  
“You came back.” The look of relief on her face made Ryan’s chest feel lighter.  
“I never left. Sorry it took so long to respond but I wanted to speak to you in person.”  
“That’s okay. I felt stupid holding that pointer expecting you to answer.” She smiled up at him. “So, you’re a ghost.”  
Ryan laughed.  
“So you believe in ghosts now,” he asked. She shrugged.  
“I don’t know, honestly. I know you don’t exist, at least in this century.”  
“That is true. I am not of this century, but I am not a spirit.”  
Joan looked at him in confusion.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Since I never died, I can’t possibly be a spirit.”  
“But how can…” she started before remembering the story Terry told her over coffee. “The witch.”  
“I see you have heard the story,” said Ryan, his jaw clenched.  
“I heard you were courting a woman and that she was a witch…”  
“She was a witch but I was not courting her. I was courting another woman but she wanted me as well. She was obsessed over me. Sending me loving letters and calling me at all hours of the day. She would be furious if I wasn’t there to receive her.”  
“Sounds like a classic grade-A bitch to me,” said Joan.  
Ryan nodded.  
“I proposed to the girl I was courting and it was on the day of my wedding when the witch came to me and cursed me. I have been this way ever since.”  
“Do you know how to break the curse?” she asked.  
“No. She cursed me because I was selfish in her eyes. How to undo something like that I do not know.”  
Joan reached out toward him. She didn’t know if she could actually touch Ryan but she had been feeling his phantom touches for days so she was surprised when her hand landed on a very solid arm. She placed it comfortingly. She could practically feel his loneliness and starvation for touch from years of isolation and fear. It reminded her of her own. For months she locked others away for fear of them getting harmed until she took a chance. Her price was cutting off from those she loved. His was to loss of all human contact.  
“At first it was lonely,” he continued. “I watched my parents agonize over my disappearance with no way to comfort them. I had no human contact of any kind and I wandered around the house. I did learn what happened in the world by listening and watching the people that came and went but none noticed me.”  
“How did Emily know about you?” she asked.  
“She was a sensitive. She couldn’t see or hear me but she knew I was there. We’ve had hours of conversations. She seemed to know what I wanted to say by what I was feeling. She would read to me and watch T.V. I fear I am the reason she never remarried.”  
Joan shook her head.  
“No. she loved Uncle Joe. When he died she couldn’t bear to remarry.” She paused in thought. “So, I’m the first person to see or hear you in two hundred years. That must make me super-sensitive.”  
“For once I am glad to be cursed,” he said. Joan looked at him curiously. “Because then I never would have met you, Joan.”  
Joan smiled at him.  
“I’m glad too.”  
~*~*~  
Joan and Ryan talked well into the night until Joan fell asleep on the couch in the early morning. She was glad it was Saturday when she woke at eleven. Ryan of course was gone, but Joan could now feel him as Emily once had.  
For three weeks she and Ryan talked about anything that came to mind, her childhood, his funny stories on past tenants and even her rant on a pompous client. She also kept up Emily’s tradition of reading to him. She went to the library and picked out Stephen King, Dean Koontz and James Patterson. Sometime he even picked the title, knocking down a book when one got his interest.  
Ryan’s materializations became more frequent, so much so that she kept thinking she would come home and find him by the door waiting for her. So far his visits only happened at night. She still woke at times by his nightly visits but it no longer scared her. In fact, she welcomed them. With him around she felt safer than she had in months.  
She didn’t spend her whole time inside. She did go out with her co-workers, attempting to make friends. Terry she already considered a friend and she was becoming close to one of the secretaries, Betty. She was a strong-willed woman, remind Joan of Lisa. She knew her best friend would get along well with her.  
On her sixth week living in the house she was getting the guest room ready for Lisa’s visit. Her best friend was visiting for the weekend to see how Joan was doing in Pittsburg, and to be in an actual haunted house. She twitched the bed sheet on the mattress to flatten it, and the corner got caught on the bed post. She moved to straighten it when it was twitched and fell. She laughed.  
“Thanks, Ryan,” she said and she felt his welcoming presence.  
She finished making the bed and went down to make lunch. Just was she was mixing the chicken pasta salad there was a knock on the door.  
“Coming.”  
She set the dish aside and went to the door where Lisa was waiting for her with a smile. Her pink shirt and blue jeans perfectly set off her curly brown hair and dark skin.  
“Lisa!” said Joan in surprise. “I thought you were going to be here tomorrow.”  
“I took an earlier flight,” said Lisa hugging her friend. “I really wanted to see you. I missed you.”  
“I missed you too,” said Joan happily. “I have so much to show you.”  
“I can’t wait!” said Lisa excitedly.  
“Come in. I was just making lunch.”  
“Great, I’m starving!”  
Joan laughed. Lisa had always been prone to outburst. It was one of the things Joan loved about her, that and her honesty.  
She let Lisa in and led her friend to the kitchen.  
“Sit, I’ll serve you a bowl,” she said and went to the cabinet the held the bowls and plates.  
“This is such a nice place,” said Lisa looking around. “Still thinking about a roommate?”  
‘I have a roommate,’ Joan thought before answering. “No, I’m good. I’m used to living alone.”  
“But what about burglars?”  
“What about them?” she asked. “I have locks, my security alarm, my bat.” Her ghost. “I’m fine.”  
“I was looking at the history of your house a few days ago. It had an interesting one.”  
Joan laughed.  
“I knew there was another reason for your visit.”  
“Oh no, I really came here to see you, but I could not pass up a chance to study a real haunted house!”  
“Lisa, my house is not haunted,” said Joan setting a bowl in front of her.  
“Yum,” said Lisa taking a bite of the pasta. “How do you know it’s not? Has anything strange happened? Flickering lights? Cold spots? Strange sounds?”  
“Faulty wiring, drafts and the house settling,” said Joan.  
“Any furniture moving?”  
“The house is on a slope.”  
Lisa groaned in frustration.  
“Come on! How am I supposed to be a parapsychologist if I don’t study haunted houses?”  
“I still find it hard to believe that someone would wake up one morning and say, “I want to study the paranormal!’”  
“Hey, nothing wrong with being a individual.”  
Joan laughed and ate her lunch. They spoke of old times and more than once Lisa commented on the house, wanting to search for spirit activity. Finally, Joan relented and gave Lisa permission.  
“Just don’t keep me up all night,” she said.  
“Thank you!” said Lisa hugging her friend. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”  
Joan laughed and let her friend gush.  
They finished their lunches and headed out. Joan showed Lisa a few of Pittsburg’s sights. Lisa was taking picture after picture to memorialize the trip. Joan had almost forgotten how much fun she had when she was with Lisa. She made every experience memorable.  
They were taking a break in an ice cream parlor not far from the park, both enjoying a sundae and to converse.  
“So, have you met anyone,” asked Lisa as she ate.  
“Sure I have. I’ve met a lot of people.”  
“Anyone special?”  
“Lisa!” said Joan gaping. She had not changed since college.  
“What? You’ve been here long enough. So answer the question.”  
“Well,” said Joan as Ryan’s face came to mind. “There is someone.”  
Lisa exclaimed excitedly.  
“Oh, spill! I want to hear all about it,” she said. “How did you meat? What’s his name?”  
‘He was looming over my bed watching me sleep. Yeah, not creepy at all.’  
“At my aunt’s wake,” she said, opting for the first time she saw Ryan. “He was a friend of my aunt’s. We talked.”  
“Just talked?” asked Lisa with a mischievous curiosity.  
“We’ve had a few drinks. Really, Lisa. It’s not like we’re going to start a book club.”  
“Depends on the books you’re reading,” said Lisa with a laugh.  
“Lisa!” said Joan in shock and Lisa laughed harder. “I never should have let you talk me in to reading that book.”  
“Oh, but it was really a really good book.”  
Joan agreed on that. Both laughed. 

 

Chapter 4

Ryan smirked as Joan and Lisa go ready for bed. Well, more accurately, Joan was getting ready for a shower and Lisa was setting up her ghost detecting equipment, putting heat-seeking cameras on shelves and audio equipment around the rooms. She also had a reader that made an odd sound and a dial. She explained each item to Joan. She called it an EMF reader. Apparently very handy in the paranormal circle.  
Ryan watched as she pulled out a device she called an EVP reader. She held it to her mouth and spoke into it.  
“Hello, Ryan,” she said and paused.  
Ryan laughed a bit. The woman thought she could detect any of his ghostly activity. It wouldn’t hurt to divulge her a bit so he spoke up.  
“Hello, Lisa,” he said.  
She held the reader up again.  
“Why are you here?” she asked. “What is keeping you tied to this plane?”  
Her antics couldn’t really work so he spoke again.  
“Love.”  
“If you can hear my voice, knock twice.”  
Ryan knocked on the wall behind him. Lisa jumped out of her seat with a yelp. Just for fun, he walked over to stand at her side, leaned down and blew on her neck. She shrieked and ran up the stairs.  
“Joan! Joan!”  
“What?” called Joan walked out with a robe around her. Her hair was still wet and she was wringing it out with a towel.  
“Ghost! Contact! My ear!”  
Joan giggled. “English, please.”  
“The ghost made contact! He blew in my ear!”  
Joan blinked in surprised and looked to Ryan down the hall over Lisa’s shoulder. He leaned against the wall and waved at her with a humorous smile. What was he up to? Was he teasing Lisa? She never thought of him as a poltergeist.  
“Aren’t you going to say something?” asked Lisa and Joan looked back at her.  
“Draft?” she said.  
“The windows were closed.”  
Joan shrugged.  
“What can I say? It’s an old house.”  
Lisa groaned and grabbed Joan by the arm.  
“Come on,” she said. She dragged Joan downstairs to the living room where the laptop was still open. “Here. I recorded him talking. He answered.”  
That surprised her. She didn’t expect Ryan to answer Lisa as she did her investigation.  
“He did?” she asked as she sat next to her.  
“Yes, listen.”  
Lisa pressed a couple of keys and replayed her short questioning to Ryan.  
“Hello, Ryan,” came Lisa’s clear voice.  
“Hello, Lisa,” came Ryan’s grainy distorted voice.  
“See!” said Lisa ecstatic. “He knows my name!”  
“Interesting,” said Joan glancing up at Ryan who looked sheepish. Lisa continued the recording.  
“Why are you here? What’s keeping you to this plane?”  
“Love.”  
Joan looked in surprise at the laptop and looked up at Ryan. He looked away as if in embarrassment. Joan wanted to go over and question him some more but with Lisa there she could only stay where she was and watch Lisa gush over her discovery.  
Ryan didn’t want to look at Joan as his conversation with Lisa was replayed. Over the last few weeks alone with Joan he felt close to her, closer than he had ever felt to anyone, even Irene who he had planned to marry so long ago. He wanted to make her happy and Lisa was her friend. It wasn’t right to keep a secret from someone so close.  
“Tell her,” he said.  
Joan looked at him in surprise. What was he thinking? If she told Lisa, there would be teams of investigations everywhere.  
“I’m going to get some coffee,” said Joan standing up. “Want some?”  
“Yeah, sure, thanks,” said Lisa looking over her data.  
Joan walked out of the living room, looking pointing at Ryan.  
“Kitchen, now,” she said in a low voice as she walked out.  
She walked into the kitchen and Ryan followed. She started making coffee. She looked up at Ryan as he walked in.  
“What do you mean ‘tell her’?” she asked.  
“She’s your friend, and your treating her like an idiot.”  
“I don’t want teams of Ghostbusters in here trying to contact you and turn our house in to a freak circus.”  
Ryan blinked in surprise. Their house? That was the first time she referred it as their house. Always “the house”. For the first time he felt like a part of something for a long time. It made his heart skip.  
He frowned and rubbed his chest. He hadn’t felt his heart beat in two hundred years. It felt oddly strange in his chest, like a drum being pounded. Or thunder reverberating the air.  
Joan looked up at Ryan and saw him rubbing his chest with a perplexed look. She had never heard of Ryan being hurt. Worried, she went to him and touched his arm. Ryan looked at her, startled.  
“What?”  
“Are you okay?’ she asked.  
“Yes,” he said. “It’s nothing.”  
Joan sighed. For the horrifying moment it took her to remember that Ryan was a ghost she thought he was in pain. Ryan couldn’t be in pain. He wasn’t solid despite her ability to touch unlike anyone else.  
She looked up at Ryan. He could have sworn Ryan’s skin had more color than the usual pale and he wasn’t as transparent, but now he was back to his usual color.  
“Joan, Lisa is your friend. She believes in these things. She knows about this house, and you’re giving her every excuse in the book that it’s not real.”  
“I told you…”  
“Do you trust her?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then tell her.”  
“Jo?”  
Ryan and Joan turned to see Lisa standing in the kitchen doorway holding the EMF reader. The sound coming from it was loud and frequent. She looked at Joan with a mix of shock and surprise.  
“Jo, who are you talking to?” asked Lisa.  
“I wasn’t…”  
“Tell her, Joan,” said Ryan insistently. Joan sighed, unsure on what to do.  
“Let me finish the coffee and I’ll tell you,” she said. She wanted to prolong explanations. With Ryan hanging hear her she knew she would have to give something to her friend.  
She quickly finished the coffee and walked in to the living room where Lisa sat on the couch looking as apprehensive as Joan was.  
“Jo, what’s going on?” asked Lisa worried. “Who were you talking to? Who do you trust?”  
Joan sighed and turned to Ryan. He nodded and she turned back to Lisa.  
“I was talking to…Ryan,” she said.  
“The guy you met? Were you on the phone with him?”  
“No. I mean I was talking to him, as in, in the room.”  
Lisa looked at her in confusion.  
“Wait, are you saying that Ryan…”  
“Can I trust you, Lisa?” asked Joan. “Can I trust you to not tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.”  
“Of course…”  
“Because it’s important, Lisa.”  
“Yes, of course you can trust me,” said Lisa a little too snappishly but Joan could see how worried she was. “Geez, Jo, what’s going on?”  
“My house is haunted and Ryan’s the ghost.”  
Lisa looked at her partly in shock and partly in confusion. Joan wished she would say something. She had lied to her best friend for two months. If Lisa was mad at her for that she would understand where the anger came from. At the moment, Lisa’s stare made her nervous.  
“Your house was haunted the whole time and you still lied to me?” asked Lisa in disbelief.  
“I’m sorry, Lisa,” said Joan.  
“Don’t you trust me?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then why didn’t you tell me the truth?”  
Joan sighed. She really dint know why she hadn’t told Lisa about Ryan. She had spent her whole life denying the existence of haunted houses and ghosts, only to find her house was haunted by a ghost. She was still getting used to it.  
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m still getting used to the thought of haunted houses. I thought if I told you, you would bring in a SWAT team off investigators and turn my home into a circus.”  
“Jo, I would never do that,” said Lisa in shock.  
“I know, and I’m so sorry.”  
Lisa stared at Joan with a perturbed face and Joan wished she knew what was going on in her friend’s mind.  
“I can’t say I’m not disappointed in you not trusting me,” said Lisa. “This could have made my career. More importantly, I’m your friend. You can tell me anything.”  
“I know and I’m sorry. I was just…”  
“Protecting your house, I get it.” Lisa gave her a small smile that lightened Joan’s anxiety. “So, what ghost boy like?”  
“You ladies are going to gossip, aren’t you?” asked Ryan.  
Joan turned to him scandalous.  
“A man does not eavesdrop on women’s gossip,” she said.  
“Wait, he’s here?” said Lisa exited. “And you can see him?”  
“Yes and yes.”  
“Cool, you’re a sensitive. I have to document this.”  
Lisa started digging in her bag. Joan looked at her in shock.  
“Lisa!”  
“What? I’m a scientist. I have to. Don’t worry. It’ll be confidential.”  
She dug out a digital audio recorder and pressed it on. “Here with me is the current owner of the haunted house I’m investigating who wishes to remain anonymous. She is a sensitive who can see and hear the ghost residing in her house. Ma’am, what can you tell us about the ghost?”  
“Lisa!” said Joan astonished. Lisa had gone from friend to ghost hunter in five seconds flat.  
Lisa turned the recorder off.  
“I told you, it’s anonymous.” She turned the recorder back on. “How long have you’ve known your house was haunted?”  
Joan laughed softly and answered her friend’s questions. For the next forty-five minutes, Joan told of how she found out about Ryan and the events following her discovering of him. Lisa even asked Ryan questions on his life before he became a ghost and he answered with Joan as a medium. Finally, Lisa put her equipment away, satisfied with her interview.  
“I like her,” said Ryan later. “She has spirit.”  
“I thought a gentleman didn’t listen to lady’s gossip,” said Joan smiling in humor.  
“Much has changed in two hundred years.”  
“He’s talking again,” asked Lisa taking a sip of wine.  
“Yes,” said Joan.  
“Okay, Ryan, hon, girl time. As awesome as talking to you was, I’m here for my girl, so poof out, okay?”  
Ryan laughed and Joan giggled.  
“Poof out?” asked Ryan.  
“It takes a while to understand Lisa-speak,” said Joan laughing.  
“I got the message,” he said and exited.  
“Is he gone?” asked Lisa. Joan nodded.  
“Yes,” she said. Lisa giggled.  
“I can’t tell you how cool it is that you can see him. I wish I could.”  
“It scared the hell out of me when I first saw him. He was standing over my bed looking at me. I thought he broke in to my house but my alarm and locks were set. For weeks I thought he was stalking me until I saw him again and learned who he was.”  
“So he was cursed because of a selfish bitch,” said Lisa in thought. “Got to love irony.”  
Joan winced, trying to hide the pain on her face. Unfortunately, Lisa caught it and turned to her apologetically.  
“Jesus, Jo, I’m sorry.”  
Joan smiled at her reassuringly.  
“It’s all right,” she said. “I got to face the truth sooner or later.”  
“Does Ryan know about…” Joan shook her head. “Has he…”  
“A couple of times,” said Joan. “I thought moving meant he’d leave me alone.”  
“Have you called the police?”  
“On a few hang up calls? No. I’ll just ignore them. Maybe he’ll quit.”  
“Do you really believe that?”  
Joan didn’t, but she hoped he would it had been the whole point of her moving from Boston to Pittsburg. She had thought the endless nights of worrying were over.  
“Joan, do you?”  
“I have to, or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”  
“Do you want me to move in,” she asked.  
Joan shook her head smiling.  
“No, I’ll be fine. I already plan on changing my phone number. I’ll call you when I get it.” She yawns. “I better head for bed. Don’t stay up too late.”  
“Okay. Tell Ryan I said good night.”  
“Sure.”  
Joan got up and walked up the stairs, leaving Lisa to her work on the computer. She walked up to her bedroom and lay down with a sigh.  
She was about to fall asleep when Ryan’s voice penetrated her mind.  
“I was correct wasn’t I?”  
She woke with a start and blinked in the dark. Reaching over she turned on the lamp on the nightstand. Ryan was sitting on the edge of her bed looking at her with a pensive expression. Checking her clock it read that it was near to six in the morning. Still dark enough for Ryan to be visible to her.  
“What were you teasing Lisa for?” she asked as she sat up.  
“She wanted a haunted house.” He shrugged. “I gave her one.”  
She laughed.  
“She’s never live this one down,” she said smiling.  
Ryan smiled.  
“Are you kidding? She’s like a kid in a candy store.”  
She laughed harder.  
“I can’t believe you know that. Where do you learn this stuff?”  
He shrugged again.  
“Here and there,” he said before pausing. “Joan, who was he?”  
“I thought gentlemen didn’t eavesdrop,” she said.  
“He does when he’s worried about his lady,” he said “Who was he?”  
Joan swallowed what felt like a rock and forced herself to keep eye contact with him.  
“He who?” she asked. Ryan looked at her irritated.  
“Don’t mess with me, Joan. The man that made you leave Boston, who is he?”  
Joan’s breath caught in her throat and she looked down at her hand’s clutching her blanket, banishing the memories she spent the past six months burying forcing themselves back to the forefront. The cold dark feeling came over her and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. Her throat closed up and she struggled for air. There was a roaring in her ear and her head pounded. She knew she was going to pass out.  
The nausea assaulted her first. Clapping a hand to her mouth she threw back her covers she ran out of her bedroom, into the bathroom and hugged the toilet, throwing up the enchilada Lisa had made her for dinner. She vaguely heard Ryan calling her name but it was too far away for her to know if it was real or in her head.  
Finally the roaring stopped. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She must have black out for a minute or two. She felt something wet press against her forehead and looked up to see Ryan looking down at her worried. Her mouth tasted like acid and her stomach clenched in a dry heave. She heard the water run and looked up to see Ryan fill one of the disposable cups kept at the sink.  
“Here,” he said handing it to her.  
“Thanks,” she said taking the cup.  
Standing up she rinsed her mouth before filling the cup again. Reaching in to the medicine cabinet she took out a prescription bottle and swallowed a pill with a gulp of water. It had been a while since she used her antianxiety pills. She didn’t think she needed them anymore since she moved.  
“Are you okay,” asked Ryan leading her back to her bedroom.  
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said sitting on her bed.  
“Doesn’t sound like it. What happened, Joan? You passed out.”  
“I did? I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t be,” said Ryan sitting next to her. “I just want to know what happened?”  
“Ryan, please…”  
“You know my past, Joan. Let me know yours. Tell me why you left Boston. You’re scared of something. I could tell since I first saw you. Tell me.”  
Joan forced herself not to have another panic attack. Not a lot of people knew about the reasons behind her move. Just Lisa and her parents. Why Ryan didn’t asked about the phone calls she hoped she wouldn’t have to tell him as well, and she knew he wouldn’t stop asking if she didn’t answer.  
And she wanted to tell him. Of everyone she knew, Ryan would be the only one who knew how she felt.  
“It started in college,” she said. “I met a man named James Brown. At first it was nice. He took me to nice places and was polite. He made me feel special.  
Ryan tried not to feel jealous but he was. The way Joan spoke about him made this James seem like a nice guy until Ryan remembered that Joan had been afraid of her safety.  
“After I graduated, I moved in with him. That’s when everything began to change. He was a police officer, so he knew the ins and outs of the law as well as I do. I would go to firm to firm looking for a job, but they all turned me down. He gave me rules to follow; make breakfast before eight, supper at six, be home at a certain time. That sort of thing. Small things.”  
Joan took a breath as she forced herself to remember all she had buried.  
“But it all changed when I was first late for supper. I was with friends and lost track of time. He was home early and was furious. He yelled at me, saying that if I was too stupid to tell time then I wasn’t allowed to leave. He locked me in a closet for the night. “For punishment,” he said. “For disobeying a rule.” He let me out the next morning, gave me a list of chores I was supposed to do and to get them done by a certain time. He threatened to put me back in the closet if I didn’t.”  
“Did you try to tell anyone?” he asked.  
“Of course. I told my friends and they begged me to leave him. I did for a few days, but when he found me he threatened to harm my friends if I didn’t come back with him. He was a cop so he could make it looked like an accident or some kind of minor crime. I refused and the next day, Lisa got hit by a car.”  
“Good Lord!” said Ryan in shock. “He did it?”  
“Yes. He even admitted it to me while Lisa was recovering in the ICU. He said he would do it again and again until all my friends were dead or I returned to him.”  
“Joan.” How could she go back to a man who was abusing her? Surely the police would believe her, but Joan said James was a cop as well. He would be able to cover his tracks.  
“I stayed a year, and during that time he made my life a living hell as punishment for trying to run away. I don’t know if he ever loved me, but I knew I fell out of love for him.  
“I stayed with him long enough to get a job and move in with Lisa.”  
“But it didn’t last long, did it?’ asked Ryan.  
“No. A week after I moved out, he barged into the apartment in a rage. I kept him distracted long enough for Lisa to call the police. Of course, distracted meant me getting the crap beat out of me.”  
“Oh, God, Joan,” said Ryan reaching over to her. Surprisingly, she leaned into him and he rested his cheek on her head.  
“He got a year in jail and a restraining order. His parole was three months ago.”  
“When you moved here,” he said and she nodded. “You’re safe here. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.”  
“Thank you, Ryan,” she said looking up at him.  
The look in his eyes made her pause. She had seen the looks he had given her, same as the looks Terry gave her, but Terry’s stares didn’t make her nervous or make her blush.  
Ryan looked down at her in the fading moonlight. She was more beautiful than Irene had been, and stronger. He didn’t know any woman in his time to stay with a cruel man until she had the means to life on her own. It wasn’t seemly back then. He leaned down toward her.  
Joan’s heart hammered in her chest as Ryan leaned down toward her. Was he going to kiss her? She had been dreaming about this for weeks and now that it was possibly going to happen. She was nervous. She closed her eyes and waited for the kiss.  
But it never happened. She opened her eyes to find the sun up and Ryan gone. She groaned and flopped back down on the bed. A loud knock pounded on the door.  
“Come on, girl! Wake up! I want to see Pittsburg.”  
Sighing, Joan sat up and got ready for the day.

 

Chapter 5

Lisa stayed for two days. She was over the moon on studying Ryan and the house. Of course she was glad to visit Joan as well. They went to all the sights of the city, including a café that Joan liked to frequent. The coffee and pastries were delicious and Lisa took a box to go.  
The night before Lisa was to go, both sat on the couch nurse a glass of wine, pizza and a rom/com on the television. They laughed at all the appropriate scenes.  
“Would you do that?” asked Lisa. “In your thirties with no man. Would you use IVF?”  
Joan thought for a moment before answering.  
“I might, if I couldn’t get a baby any other way,” she said. “I’ve always wanted kids. If the only way to get them is artificially, then I will.”  
“I might too, but I really like the idea of having a baby with the man I love.”  
Joan would like that too but she was too afraid to open up to a man since James. She knew not every man was like that but the fear of finding another James kept her away from the dating scene.  
And then there was Ryan. Each night spent with the spectral man was another night where she fell deeper in love with him. She couldn’t stand the thought of not spending a single night with him. Talking, reading and laughing. Just being with him gave her comfort.  
“What are you thinking about?” asked Lisa.  
Joan turned to her with a blush. Had she been caught thinking about Ryan? Even though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was around.  
“Is it that guy you like?”  
“Lisa,” stuttered Joan blushing more. Lisa laughed.  
“It is! You got it bad as a school girl.”  
“Shut up,” said Joan shoving Lisa playfully. Lisa laughed.  
“Come on, it’s okay to have a love life. But…”  
From the sudden switch in Lisa’s voice, Joan knew Lisa had turned serious.  
“But what?” asked Joan.  
“Are you sure you want to pursue it? I mean, because of his condition…”  
“I know, Lisa,” said Joan with a groan. “Don’t you think I haven’t thought of how crazy this is? I mean he’s…and I’m…It’s impossible.”  
“And not healthy. I like the guy, I really do, but I don’t see a future for you with him.”  
The trouble was, Joan couldn’t think of a future without Ryan. In the three and a half months she had known him she wanted to be with him more than anyone else.  
“What about that co-worker of yours? Terry? He sounds like a nice guy.”  
“He’s just a friend,” said Joan taking a sip of wine.  
“That’s how it starts. Friends get friendlier.”  
Joan laughs.  
“Explain us?”  
“Oh, that’s easy. We’re crazy.”  
Both women laughed as the doorbell rang. Joan set her wine down and went to answer it. She was surprised by who was on the other side.  
“Terry, hi,” she said surprised. “What are you doing here?”  
“You left your case notes at the office,” he said holding up the folder. “I know you need it for the trial.”  
“Oh, thanks, Terry,” she said taking the folder.  
“Jo, who’s at the door?” Joan turned to see Lisa walk out of the living room. She looked in surprise when she saw Terry in the entry hall. “Who’s that?”  
“Lisa, this is Terry. Terry, Lisa.”  
“Hi,” said Terry holding his hand out for Lisa to shake. Lisa smiled back as she shook his hand.  
“Hi,” she said. She turned to Joan whispered in her ear. “Cute.”  
“Shut up,” said Joan softly.  
“You’re Joan’s friend from Boston, right?” said Terry flirtatiously. Joan fought not to laugh.  
“Yes, but I’m only here till tomorrow,” said Lisa.  
“Too bad, I would love to get to know you better.”  
“Me too,” said Lisa with a flirting smile.  
Joan had to keep from laughing from all the flirty glances that went between Lisa and Terry.  
“Lisa, don’t we need a refill on popcorn?” she asked.  
“What?’ said Lisa confused before her brain kick started. “Oh, yes, sorry. Popcorn. Bye, Terry.”  
She hurried to the kitchen and Joan laughed.  
“Watching a movie?” asked Terry.  
“The Backup Plan,” said Joan. “Want to watch?”  
“No thanks. I’ll stick to Nightmare on Elm Street.”  
“Old school or remake?”  
“Old school of course.” Joan nodded in agreement. “Joan, are we still on for our lunch meeting tomorrow?”  
“Yes, I’ve made reservations at…”  
Joan didn’t finish when she felt a sudden pressure and Terry stumbled against the door. Joan gasped in surprise and went to his side to help him up.  
“Terry, are you okay?” she asked.  
“Yeah,” he said rubbing his head. “I’m uncoordinated today.”  
“Can you drive?”  
“Yes, just e-mail me the details, okay?”  
“Sure,” she said and watched him leave.  
~*~*~  
Ryan paced Joan’s room anxiously. It had been hours since Terry’s visit and Ryan felt slightly guilty at what had happened during the visit. He had hoped that Joan would come see him as soon as the sun went down so he could explain himself but so far she spent it mostly with Lisa. His patience was about to be put to the test.  
He tried to not feel the jealousy he felt when he heard Joan and Terry discuss lunch plans. He had overheard Lisa and Joan talk about a man Joan liked and he tried to determine who it was. He had heard Joan talk about many men she had met but she didn’t see, to be interested in one over the others. What condition did he have that made it impossible for Joan to be with him?  
He looked over to the door when he heard footstep and Joan opened the door, ready for bed. She looked surprised to see Ryan in her room.  
“You waited for me?” she asked.  
“Yes,” he said nervously. “I wanted to explain myself.”  
“I already knew it was you,” she said walking to her bed. “You don’t have to explain.”  
“It is not my place to tell a lady who can or cannot see…”  
“Darn right.”  
“So if you want to continue to allow Terry to court you…”  
“Excuse me?” she asked in surprise. “Court? You thought that Terry and I were going on a date?”  
“I only assumed…”  
“You assumed wrong. Terry’s my boss and a friend, only that. We’re meeting new clients tomorrow. That’s it.”  
Now he felt more like an idiot. Of course Joan was a lawyer and went to lunches with clients. She was a strong independent woman who had just gotten out from under the thumb of a tyrant and here he was with his insecurities.  
Ryan had no right to tell her who she could or could not date. He had no chance with her. He could never be with her, no matter if they can touch and talk. He had no right to her and he had to remember that.  
“I apologize,” he said. “I should not have told you what to do. I had no right.”  
She shook her head.  
“It’s okay, Ryan. You were just being a good friend.”  
Ryan felt the pain in his chest and he groaned from the intensity of it. He clutched his chest as the pain cut through him.  
Joan heard him groan and saw him clutch his chest. Immediately she got off the bed and went to his side. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear he was having a heart attack.  
“Ryan, are you okay?’ she asked.  
“I’ll be fine. It’ll pass.”  
“But how?”  
“I don’t know.”  
Joan ran to her nightstand and grabbed her phone. She was about to dial 911 when she remembered that Ryan wasn’t alive. How stupid would she sound calling for an emergency for a dead man. She stood with the phone clutched in her hand. She couldn’t do anything. Her friend was hurting and she was useless!  
“It’s okay, Joan,” said Ryan. Joan turned to him and he tried to give her a reassuring smile. “It’ll be okay.”  
Joan dropped her phone on her bed and went back to his side. Taking him in her arms she held him to try and ease him through the pain. He rested his head on her shoulder as he breathed through the pain.  
Finally, the pain subsided and his body returned to its normal numb state. He felt Joan rocking him and felt like an invalid, need the help of another to get the simplest things done. He slowly straightened and gratefully smiled at her.  
“Thank you,” he said.  
“What happened,” asked Joan worried. “I thought you don’t feel pain.”  
“I don’t,” he said sitting on the bed. Joan’s hand rested on his shoulder comfortingly.  
“Then how did you feel pain?”  
“I don’t know.”  
Joan watched Ryan worriedly. Ryan had said that before she came he had never felt another person in centuries. Could it be that the curse was breaking? If it did, what did that mean between them? Would he die?  
Joan hated the thought and cursed herself for even thinking it. Ryan couldn’t die. He was a ghost. Ghosts don’t die.  
Ryan saw the worry on Joan’s face. He wished he could tell her what was wrong with him but it was all very new to him and he didn’t exactly know where he could get answers. He wished he could reassure her but he dint know how to with a problem like this.  
“I’m fine now,” he said. “I must have touched some salt.”  
They had learned that salt and iron hurt could repel him. It was a good enough reason to explain his sudden pain.  
“I don’t remember bringing any in the room,” she said. “I’ll vacuum in the morning. Lisa’s asleep and I don’t want to wake her before her flight. Until then, try to avoid that spot.”  
“Of course,” he said reassuringly. “You better get to sleep. You have to drive Lisa to the airport.”  
Joan nodded.  
“Yes, you’re right,” she said climbing up into bed and getting under the covers. “Good night, Ryan.”  
“Good night, Joan,” he said.  
Ryan watched Joan sleep for a minute, finding comfort in her restful state. Sleep was never a requirement for him anymore so he spent various ways to make up the time, watching the residents as if to ward off nightmares, or reading any books they had lying around. Sometimes he’d just stare out the window, remembering days past.  
Now, he stares at Joan. Somehow her sleeping gave him peace during the night and he kept the nightmares that plague her at night away. They gave each other comfort and Ryan didn’t want it any other way.  
~*~*~  
“Ryan, have you seen my keys?” asked Joan pawing through her purse, looking for the lost item. She heard a rattle and turned to see her keys on the floor. She bent down and picked them up. “Oh, thanks. I’ll be going to the store after work to pick up dinner. I left the television on for you.”  
She left the house. It had been a week since she dropped Lisa off at the airport to go back to Boston. Ryan and Joan’s relationship was a bit rocky since Terry’s visit. They still talked and read together but they were less comfortable with each other.  
It had also been a week since Ryan’s unexplained chest pains and Joan suspected it had nothing to do with salt. Her friend was hurting and she wanted to know why.  
Her morning moved rather slowly. She was clad for the lunch break and left the office. She wasn’t really very hungry. She grabbed a quick burger from a food truck and went to a store on Liberty. Joan had been surprised to find a psychic in Pittsburg but was also glad she did. She wanted to know more about spirits to help Ryan.  
The shop door had an Egyptian eye painted on it and read ‘Madam Debbie’s Shop of Mystical Talisman’s.’ Red velvet hung in the window and drawn open so passersby could look in. the inside smelled of herbs and incense. Jars of herbs, powders and baskets of gems were placed on shelves and roots hung on the rafters. Shelves of books from basic herbal remedies to paranormal mythology. It certainly looked like a psychic shop.  
“Can I help you?”  
Joan turned to find a woman with dark hair and bright eyes walk out of the back room. Her hair was pulled back with a red scarf and she wore about five beaded necklaces and a white lacy blouse. She had large hooped earrings in her ear and bangles on her wrists. Except for the blue jeans she looked like a psychic.  
“Madam Debbie?” she asked.  
“That was my mother. She died and left the store to me. I didn’t have the heart to change it.” She held her hand out to Joan. “I’m Catherine.”  
“Joan,” said Joan shaking it. “Are you really psychic or am I wasting my time here?”  
“Lawyers,” said Catherine with a laugh. “God, I hate them. Always so direct.”  
“Well, are you? Wait, how did you know I was a lawyer? I just walked in.”  
“I have some of the gift. Not as strong as Mom/. What can I do for you?”  
“I need help with a friend of mine. He’s not like other people…”  
“He’s a ghost, right?”  
Joan looked at Catherine in shock. She hadn’t said anything that hinted toward Ryan being a ghost. How had she known?  
“Gift, remember. Plus there’s a hint of a ghostly touch to you. A ghostly friend, huh?”  
“Yes. I don’t even know where to start.”  
“The beginning sounds good.”  
So Joan did, starting from Emily’s wake and seeing Ryan at the window and then at the furniture moving and malfunctioning electronics. As she told her story Catherine made a cup of tea and set it on the table in the lounge area of the store. When she came to actually seeing Ryan Catherine looked at her in shock.  
“A full manifestation? That’s incredible! Not a lot of spirit hunters get those.”  
“But I’m the only one who can see him. A friend of mine visited a week ago and she couldn’t see him even with him standing right in front of her.”  
Catherine tapped her chin in thought.  
“Incredible. Continue.”  
Joan told the rest of the story and when she came to Ryan’s chest pains Catherine was even more surprised.  
“Ghosts don’t feel pain,” she said.  
“I know. He said it was probably from some salt on the floor but I didn’t find any. I thought that if I talked to you, I might be able to help him.”  
Catherine picked up her tea cup and took a sip.  
“My mother told me about your house,” she said. “Some years ago, your aunt asked my mother to hold a séance for the spirit residing there. What they saw was a faint image of a young man but it was enough to convince them that there was a spirit living there. Research on the house said earlier tenants tried an exorcism…”  
“Someone tried to exorcise Ryan,” said Joan in shock nearly dropping her teacup.  
“Obviously is did not work if he is still there,” said Catherine.  
“Why is he having chest pains through? He doesn’t want me to worry about it but I do. I’m worried he might be dying.”  
“And that’s so bad? He is a ghost so he is essentially dead.”  
“He’s not dead,” said Joan angrily. “It was a witch.”  
“If that’s true then it’s possible the spell ran its course. What happens when the curse is lifted is anyone’s guess.”  
“Do you know how to lift curses,” she asked. Catherine shook her head.  
“I’m a psychic, not a witch. Spells are beyond my expertise. But I can tell you one thing, if what you say is true about Ryan, the end result might not be the one you’d like.”  
“Meaning what?”  
“Meaning if the curse is broken, Ryan really will join the world beyond.”  
Joan gripped tightened on the kept to still her shaking hands. Whatever answer she wanted, that was the last thing she wanted to hear. She had to credit Catherine for her honesty though.  
She had hoped that by coming here she would get some answers but all she got were more questions.  
~*~*~  
Ryan waited for Joan to return home. The television was left on and a book was lain out for him. The truth was with all the entertainment around him, he was bored. Contact with Joan had him yearning for more. He wanted to talk to more people, not watch them enter and exit out of existence. As much as he liked Joan’s company, he wished for more.  
It was nearing evening. Joan had called and spoke over the answering machine to tell Ryan she would be late because of an overflow of work. Ryan would wait anxiously for her to return.  
Joan had gotten into the habit of calling the house to let Ryan know she would be late. Ryan appreciated the gesture. It made him worry less for her. Since she had told him about James, nightmares had plagued her dreams. Ryan never asked what the nightmares were about but he also didn’t need to guess. She would wake in the middle of a dream and be too terrified to go back to sleep. All Ryan could do was offer comfort and stay at her bedside in an attempt to chase away the nightmares.  
Ryan hoped that one day she would not be plagued by the bad memories of her ex. She deserved to be happy without the heartache.  
The door rattled and Ryan turned to see who was coming in. Joan had not said when she would be home and since it was nearing evening he couldn’t do much more than observe.  
The door opened and a man walked in. He was in his thirties, handsome with dark hair and dark eyes. His clothes were rumpled, as if he had been sleeping in then, and there were sleep bags under his eyes. As soon as he walked in the man deactivated the security alarm. Ryan was surprised. Joan only gave the code to Lisa, the only person besides Ryan she could trust.  
The man walked through the living room, as if inspecting the place. He wore gloves which wasn’t strange given the chill of the weather. He carefully inspected everything, from Joan’s books to her pictures and her DVD and CD collection. Something about the man didn’t sit well with Ryan. He went through the house with practice precision.  
The man walked into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards and refrigerator. He didn’t take anything. Just did a quick look through before closing the doors.  
The man walked back in to the entrance hall. Ryan followed. The man noticed the flashing message light on the phone and pressed “Play” to hear the message.  
“Hi, Ryan,” said Joan’s voice through the speakers. “I’m going to be late tonight. Terry gave me extra caseloads if you can believe it. Looks like me making dinner is cancelled. I hope you like Chinese…”  
“Bitch,” the man said in fury. “Whore. You couldn’t wait to jump into the next man’s bed, could you? I’ll teach you.”  
Sweeping an arm across the table, he knocked off the phone, vase full of flowers, bowl and little figurines. All of it shattered on the floor. He turned and walked out the door.  
Ryan only had a moment to realize that the man was James. Anger surged through him. How dare that man try to force his way into Joan’s life again. The lights flickered in response to his anger.  
James walked in with a gas can that reeked of gasoline. He went upstairs and Ryan followed. He watched helplessly as James poured gasoline everywhere. There was no doubt in his mind that he planned to burn the house down.  
The door closed downstairs and Ryan felt his panic rise when he heard Joan call out.  
“Ryan, I’m home!” she called out. “I got Chinese! And a new movie. I think you’ll like this one...”  
“Joan!” he yelled hurrying to her. Joan looked up at him in surprise. “Joan, get out of here! It’s…”  
“Joan!”  
Joan froze. She looked up to see James looking down at her with some much anger she became paralyzed. The look on his face sent her back over a year ago and all she could do was stand there.  
“You shouldn’t have left me, Joan,” said James. “I told you to never leave.”  
“James, please, leave me alone,” said Joan backing into the living room as he advanced toward her.  
Ryan cursed. He couldn’t do anything while the sun was up and sundown was still minutes away.  
“I own you, Joan,” said James. “That means I’ll never leave you alone.”  
His hand was a blur across her face and Joan stumbled back with a gasp.  
“Joan!” yelled Ryan running to her. She was paralyzed on the floor, shaking from head to toe. Ryan turned to James, seething. “You bastard!”  
James reached down and fisted Joan’s hair.  
“Who is he?” he yelled. “Where’s the pimp you’re whoring yourself to?!”  
“Shut up!” yelled Ryan and threw the coffee table at him. It crashed into James and he fell in a pool of gasoline. Ryan turned back to Joan. “Joan, you have to get out. He’s going to burn down the house.”  
Joan blinked, coming out of her panic, and focused on him.  
“Ryan…”  
“Get out, Joan!”  
There was a yelled and they turned to see James standing up and taking out a lighter. Joan looked at it in fright.  
“James, please,” she pleaded. “Let me go.”  
“What the hell was that,” yelled James. “What threw me?”  
“Leave!”  
James took a step forward and was again thrown across the room. He skid several feet before crashing into a bookcase.  
“Joan, go!” yelled Ryan.  
“Not without you!” yelled Joan.  
“I can’t leave the house, you know that. I can’t live with myself knowing you died because of me.”  
Joan looked to protest again when James stood back up. Ryan cursed. The man was resilient. He flicked open the lighter and a flame wavered over the wick.  
“I’m sorry, Joan,” he said softly and kissed her lips. “I love you.”  
With all his might, he pushed her out the window as James dropped the lighter on the gasoline covered floor and books.  
~*~*~  
Joan didn’t even register the pain at first. The shock of Ryan throwing her was all she knew for the point two seconds it took for her to be thrown through the window and hit the ground.  
The pain hit her hard. Her back hit the ground and she rolled away from the house, glass cutting into her skin. Her head was spinning but it didn’t take long to clear. When she looked up again, her house was in flames.  
“Ryan!” she screamed and ran back to the house but one of her neighbors caught her. The fight with James had caught their attention and she could hear sirens in the distance. “No, Ryan’s still in there!”  
“It’s too dangerous,” said her neighbor holding her back. “The flames are too high.”  
Joan continued to struggle against him as police and a fire engine drove up. She barely heard the police barking orders for the civilians to stay back and began taking statements. She was shaking from head to foot, watching her house burn down as paramedics pulled her away and put her in the back of an ambulance.  
The medics were asking questions but Joan barely heard the, her mind kept replying Ryan’s confession.  
“I love you”  
He obviously meant it. Ryan never said anything he didn’t mean and she had no way to confess her feeling for him. Even with the firefighters, the fire would surely destroy her home.  
Heartbroken, she cried her pain visibly for everyone to see.  
“We have a survivor!” yelled a firefighter.  
Joan looked up in fear. Did James survive? Was he going to continue to terrorize her life? He already killed the man she loved. What more could he do?  
She watched in fear as a pair of firefighters carried out a wrapped figure. At first she didn’t see anything under the blanket, but then she caught long black hair and define facial features.  
“Oh, thank God!”  
~*~*~  
Ryan woke to a strange being noise, which was strange since he didn’t remember going to sleep. Strange smells assaulted his nose, making his nose wrinkle from the pungent smell. The rhythmic beeping was unfamiliar as well. There was also a pinch in his arm that was very uncomfortable.  
Opening his eyes he saw a white ceiling above him. It was slightly unfocused but that didn’t last long. Something uncomfortable was jammed in his nose. He could hear voices distantly and hear footsteps.  
Slowly, he turned his head and took in his surroundings. Machines were placed on either side of him. One beeped with every beat of his heart and the other compressed air into his lungs. Everything was stark white.  
He was in a twenty-first century hospital. How could that be? The last thing he remembered was fighting James to keep him away from Joan.  
Where was Joan? Was she safe? Did James get her? He struggled to get up, ignoring the rapidly beeping machines signaling his distress. He tore the pads off his chest the needle out of his arm as nurses ran in.  
“Sir, you are to stay in bed,” said one nurse attempting to push him back down but he fought against her.  
“Where’s Joan?” he demanded. “I have to find her.”  
“Sir, please, you haven’t recovered enough to leave.’  
“Let me go!”  
“Ryan?”  
Ryan looked up in shock and relief to see Joan standing in the doorway, a plastic cup in her hand with steam rising from the brim. At the sight of the awakened Ryan on the hospital bed, the cup slipped from her grasp and she ran into the room and into his arms.  
Joan was near tears when she saw Ryan awake and sitting on the bed. After giving a creditable story to the police and kept a twelve hour vigil over Ryan’s prone form, she feared she would never see him wake. The doctors said he had second degree burns which consisted with close proximity to the fire and found naked in her living room. She gave the excuse that they were dating when her ex, James, intruded on a romantic moment. She explained the fight as best as she could and prayed Ryan would wake.  
And he was, holding her for dear life and she him. She didn’t care that two nurses were watching and possibly a few doctors. She was just so relieved that he was alive.  
“You’re alive,” he said in relief, threading his fingers in her hair as if in proof.  
“So are you,” she said and laughed. “Literally.”  
“But how?”  
“The curse broke,” said Joan pulling away and smiled at him. “I don’t know how, but the curse broke.”  
“Thank God,” he said.  
He leaned down and kissed her, and this time he was going to savor it. Her lips were soft and tasted of honey. He had never tasted anything as sweet.  
Joan was taken by surprise by the kiss, but it was not unwelcomed. She found that she like the way he kissed her. All passion and possessiveness. There was no doubt how he felt for her.  
Reluctantly, she pulled away and smiled at him.  
“I love you too,” she said and kissed him again. 

Epilogue  
One Year Later 

Joan smiles as she watches Ryan pull Ghost in and dismount. Ghost was named for his dark grey coat and bright blue eyes, unnatural color for a horse. Ryan was wearing a white wife-beater, ripped blue jeans, cowboy boots and a Stetson. The shirt was pulled tight against his muscles, allowing Joan to see all of his ripped abs.  
It had been a year since the fire that burned down Aunt Emily’s house. A year since James and the end of the nightmare. A year since the curse had lifted and Joan’s future with Ryan began.  
The cover story for the fire was that Ryan was Joan’s boyfriend staying the night when James burst in and began burning down the house. Ryan ordered Joan out of the house as he held James back. Due to the concussion, Ryan feigned memory loss on the fight and the police didn’t pressure him into trying to get it back and told Joan the truth afterward.  
He said it was like behind born again. There was pain first before he felt like he was being split apart and then put back together again. The next thing he knew he was waking up in the hospital room.  
Not wanting to relive painful memories in the house that brought them together, both moved out of Pittsburg and to a ranch outside of Dallas. Ryan worked on the ranch and studied for an American History degree while Joan worked at a university as a law professor.  
Now life was good. Ryan was a quick learned on the modern world and was eager to start teaching. Most of all, he liked the ranch. It was a little slice of the world he once knew and could never go back to. Joan liked it too. The quiet was a lot different that the noise of the city and somehow it was more peaceful. They still have a security system and now a guard dog and Ryan had a gun in a lock box. Ryan taught Joan how to use it, but she still hated the sight of it.  
Joan still practiced law. She worked out of a small office in town and handled everything from divorce to property settlements. Her “office” was actually a house renovated into an office and she worked with a couple other lawyers and one secretary, and she couldn’t be happier. Between the settlement she got from the insurance company and her job, she and Ryan could live comfortably for the rest of their lives.  
“How did it look?” she asked as Ryan tied Ghost to a pole.  
“Only a couple posts needed mending and one of the heifers is about to calf,” he said looking up and smiled. Even after a year, a smile from him still made her giddy. He pointed to the lemonade in her hand. “That for me?”  
“No, I think I’ll give it to Trucker,” she said teasingly gestured to the dog.  
Ryan laughed as he unsaddled Ghost and walked up to her. He kissed her gently as he took the glass from her. Ever since he became human again, he couldn’t get enough of being close to Joan, touching and kissing her whenever he could. He smiled at her.  
“My thanks,” he said and took a sip. “Delicious.”  
“Aunt Emily’s recipe,” she said. “Better rub Ghost down before he passes out.”  
“All right,” he said kissing her one last time before handing her the glass and went to rub Ghost down.  
“I’ll start dinner,” she said.  
That put a bounce in his step. One of the things Ryan always looked forward to were meal times. It was like he was trying to make up for two hundred years of fasting.  
Joan went into the kitchen and started making pasta with garlic bread and salad. Trucker followed her inside, hoping to beg for scraps.  
“Is Lisa still coming tomorrow,” asked Ryan as he walked in, stripping off his leather riding gloves.  
“Yes, at one. Oh no, you don’t.” She used the spatula to smack his hand away from reaching a cherry tomato. “That’s for dinner.”  
Ryan laughs as he goes up to wash.  
The first few months after the curse was lifted had been mind boggling for Ryan. The hospital made him nervous but Joan said it did with everyone not used to it and his first car ride had been both thrilling and terrifying. The sights of the city amazed him and took his breath away. They lived in a small apartment until the insurance came on the house.  
The move had been mutual and Texas was the obvious choice. Ryan needed some place away from the noise of the city and something familiar and Joan needed some peace of mind. Texas had it all.  
Ryan was still getting used to the modern world. Some things he did not like such as the violence that was visible to the public eye. There was violence in his time, but not in the way it was now.  
There were good things about the modern world. There was television, showers, ice cream and pizza. He loved pizza. Joan wasn’t surprised but glad he did.  
One thing he never got enough of was books. Neither did Joan. They had made a whole room their own personal library and filled it with books of every kind. Every night, one of them would pick a book and read before bed. Ryan liked the classics while Joan preferred the more romantic ones. They would curl up on the couch they placed under a window and read together.  
“Lisa said she was bringing someone with her today,” said Joan as Ryan walked back in after his shower.  
“Really?” said Ryan. “Who?”  
“Terry.”  
Joan watched Ryan’s reaction to the mention of Joan’s old coworker. In the first couple weeks after the destruction of their house, Terry had dropped by, a lot. Ryan didn’t like the attention Terry had given her, but later learned that Terry was trying to politely ask for Lisa’s number. Since then, he had been a good friend to them both and helped whenever he could.  
“It should be fun having them visit,” said Ryan.  
“It’s better this way,” said Joan. “That way, we can tell them our news.”  
Ryan turned to her in curious surprise.  
“News?” he asked. “What news?”  
“The news of our growing family,” said Joan, placing a hand over her stomach. Ryan looked at her in shocked before grinning and hugging her. “Now, I only have one question for you, Mr. O’Connor."  
“And what’s that, Ms. Keller,” asked Ryan.  
“Are you going to make an honest woman out of me or not?”  
“Well, when you put it that way…” said Ryan and Joan laughed when he kissed her.  
END


End file.
